Must-Know Carpentry Tips: Budget, Design and Additional Insights

Carpentry is serious business.

We can all agree that no home is complete without carpentry works like cabinets and storage features. It’s a cornerstone of any renovation project balancing form and function, especially when it comes to optimising space in our space-strapped home.

Here, we give you the full rundown of considerations for carpentry, budgeting tips and plenty of creative ideas to plan your dream home!

Key carpentry considerations

Built-in carpentry VS loose furniture

Every home needs carpentry of some sort. From built-in wardrobes to bespoke kitchen cabinets, these pieces are designed according to your requirements to maximise every inch of space.

Carpentry comes in particularly handy for awkward spaces, since they can be customised to fit unique dimensions, like a desk for a triangular wall, or storage cabinets in a wall niche.

It all usually boils down to where you need carpentry, and whether you need them. When you’re deciding between built-ins and loose furniture, here are a few pros and cons to keep in mind:

Pros and cons of built-in carpentry and loose furniture

One thing to note about built-in carpentry is that the formaldehyde from the adhesives and resin used in composite wood products might give you a headache and make your eyes sting when you’ve just moved in (what everyone calls the “new house smell”).

On the bright side, you’ll find interior firms offering eco-friendly options with low emissions.

Ultimately, deciding between built-ins and loose furniture depends on your lifestyle needs, the space planning, budget, and whether you plan to stay at your current place for the long-term.

Explore: Built-In Carpentry VS Loose Furniture: Is One Better Than The Other?

Do carpentry works need permits?

In short, the answer is no. Unlike hacking works which are considered noisy and disruptive, carpentry works do not require any permits.

Your ID or contractor should, however, inform your immediate neighbours of the renovation by serving a written notice.

Renovation costs for carpentry and budgeting tips

Estimated carpentry costs

In general, carpentry costs take up a significant bulk of your renovation quote (alongside hacking and masonry works).

Naturally, your next question is probably how much it costs to get carpentry done for your home renovation. Here’s the thing: sharing a ballpark range for carpentry is rather difficult as carpentry is typically made to order and everyone’s homes and storage needs differ significantly.

Generally, kitchen carpentry is more expensive: since it’s a space that has to withstand heavy cooking, grime and fumes, most homeowners would go for lasting and durable materials for countertops, laminates and fittings.

To keep within budget, some of you might take things down a notch elsewhere, like in the bedrooms (think simple/standard wardrobe compartments).

On the other hand, if you need lots of customised compartments for your huge collection of clothes, or your kids’ endless clutter, the quotation would be more expensive.

To get a better idea, you can read more about the rough renovation costs by room, which includes carpentry costs.

For a rough estimate, try out our renovation calculator: all you have to do is to select the areas you plan to renovate and the extent of carpentry works you’re planning on.

And just so you know, these numbers are backed by data from over $20,000,000 worth of contracts!

Budgeting tips

To manage your budget better, plan for a mix of custom and ready-made furniture and discuss functionality and any specific detailing you want to incorporate with your designer.

For instance, you can invest in custom carpentry for critical areas like the kitchen and bedroom, where you might need an L-shaped wardrobe, or sturdy cabinets for the toilet. For less essential spaces like the living room area, you can opt for off-the-shelf options.

If you like certain detailing and profiles like shaker-style doors, these will bump the cost up – but you can balance it out with a simple laminate finish for cabinet/wardrobe doors in other spaces.

To get an accurate estimate of how much to expect, it’s best to get at least two to three different quotations from different designers.

Be sure to look through the quotation to check on things like whether the cost range of materials per foot run/per square foot is clearly listed. Make sure you don’t overlook details of specific storage storage compartments you want in your cabinets/wardrobes – a rather common (and unfortunate) regret homeowners share.

For a better understanding, here are some helpful reading materials:

• Things to look out for to get your money’s worth with custom carpentry
• Red flags to look out for in your renovation contract

Is it cheaper to engage firms with in-house carpentry services?

According to IDs we’ve spoken to before on why renovation quotations vary, there’s not much of a difference in cost between firms that offer in-house carpentry services and those that don’t.

Rather, the main draw of a firm with an in-house team is that they typically ensure more coordination and quality control, partly because of their streamlined communication.

Of course, firms without in-house teams are more than capable of working with subcontractors who produce quality work. Whichever type of firm you choose, you can ask to check the quality of their workmanship by visiting some of their ongoing sites.

In case you’ve been looking for one, check out this list of 10 ID firms that offer in-house carpentry services.

Carpentry design ideas

For those of you who need carpentry ideas for your home, here’s where the fun really starts!

For space-strapped homes

We’d argue that the smaller the home, the bigger the ideas. After all, maximising every square inch in a compact space needs some serious thought.

With custom carpentry, you can do up multi-functional furniture like pull-out Murphy beds, extendable dining tables and built-in storage cabinets that double as extra seating.

You can make full use of vertical space too and free up floor space with wall-mounted shelves and floor-to-ceiling cabinetry.

Check out these cool ideas:

• Space-saving carpentry ideas
• Clever kitchen storage ideas to maximise space

For storage and display

You can get storage tailored to your needs too, from adjustable shelves in wardrobes to pull-out racks in the kitchen for easy access.

There are plenty of creative ways to do up custom built-ins for displaying your collections, whether you’re a shoe enthusiast, have a jaw-dropping luxury bag collection or anything in between.

To highlight your collections/display, consider integrating lighting within these storage nooks.

Here are some ideas you don’t want to miss:

• Carpentry ideas for storage and display
• Bookshelf ideas to show off your collections
• Built-in shoe cabinets tailored to your home
• Ideas to show off your luxury bag collection

For a clean look with concealed storage solutions

Have a love for clean lines and clutter-free spaces? You might be considering concealed storage solutions, or even hiding unsightly parts in your home like trunking using carpentry.

If you’re new to the whole renovation game, did you know that you can hide your fridges and dishwashers in a built-in carpentry unit? Or that you can use carpentry to hide your household shelter door for a seamless look with the rest of your space?

If that sounds like what you need, here’s some inspiration:

• Genius ways to hide everything at home
• Sneaky ways to hide eyesores like wires and pipes
• Ideas to hide your household shelter
• How to use ‘invisible’ doors to hide rooms and storage

For wardrobes

Without an efficient wardrobe design, you’d probably struggle with giving your clothes a proper home. Discuss with your designer whether you need features like hanging rods at a certain height, or if you have a specific number of drawers/compartments in mind.

You’d also have to think about whether your wardrobe layout is suitable for your space, and if you have the luxury of converting a whole room to a walk-in wardrobe (if that’s on your wishlist).

To get you started, here are some wardrobe design ideas:

• 25 unique bedroom wardrobe designs
• Capsule wardrobe ideas if you can’t fit a walk-in
• Walk-in wardrobe ideas with NO hacking involved

For entryways

From mini lobbies to fluted panel walkways, and cosy nooks that are great for taking on/off your footwear, you can make a good first impression with a wow-worthy entryway.

If you want to keep nosy passers-by from getting an unblocked view into your unit, you can consider an entryway partition for privacy too; an aesthetic but effective solution to keep prying eyes away, especially if you like to keep the door open while you’re at home.

The carpentry ideas don’t stop there – here are even more you’ll love:

• Tiny carpentry design details that make all the difference
• 11 designs and fixtures that just make sense

The only carpentry guide you need for your home renovation

If you’ve made it this far, we know you’re serious about giving your home the makeover it deserves with the right balance of aesthetic and functional carpentry.

The next step: finding an interior designer who can advise you further on what suits your needs and your home. Simply tell us your renovation requirements (carpentry or otherwise), and we’ll link you up with interior design firms best suited for you!

Get started now by clicking the button below.

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